Restaurateurs aren't exactly big fans of the Department of Health (see: the guy who got big fines, he says, for photographing an inspector working) but the Daily News today notices an interesting way that some are getting out of the standard inspections entirely: Just claim to be a supermarket or a warehouse! more ›

During a surprise checkpoint in Manhattan 14 tour buses were inspected on Friday night and none of them passed. According to the AP, "Gov. Andrew Cuomo directed the operation at DOT checkpoints as part of his order to investigate the Bronx crash of the tour bus, which was serving casino customers, while stepping up enforcement of all tour buses statewide." State DOT spokeswoman Deb Rausch said of the 14 failed inspections, "This is quite extraordinary." more ›

ESPN has collated the sanitary inspection records for food vendors across America, and the results may shock you. In our area, this includes the most recent Health Department inspection results for vendors at Citi Field, Yankee Stadium, Madison Square Garden, and Nassau Coliseum. Care to place a bet on which one was cleanest and which was grossest? more ›

Even before the new restaurant grade rules were put into effect, DOH inspectors were out looking for dirt. According to the Daily News, the DOH shut down 1,758 restaurants in 2009, up 27% from the number of closures in 2008. Health officials say it's because they were able to check more restaurants than in previous years. Assistant Health Commissioner Daniel Kass said, "When you get to more, you are going to find more." more ›

The city's Department of Investigation says that the Fire Department and Department of Buildings failed to inspect the former Deutsche Bank building in the months leading up to the August 2007 seven-alarm fire that claimed two firefighters' lives. For instance, a DOB inspector told his supervisor that there was a breach in a water standpipe, but the supervisor allegedly told him to leave it out of his report. The Daily News points out, "If the test had been carried out, inspectors would have discovered a more serious issue with the standpipe - preventing the tragedy that claimed firefighters Joseph Graffagnino Jr. and Robert Beddia." The DOI report also reiterated claims that the FDNY didn't inspect the building as it should have, "Everyone had tunnel vision." Graffagnino's father lamented to the News, "Why didn't they do anything about it? They couldn't do anything right." You can read the whole report here (PDF). more ›

For the second time in as many years, the famous Stage Deli in Manhattan was shuttered by the Dept. of Health after inspections found the restaurant infested with vermin. The Times Square institution was last closed in mid-2006 after it accrued too many points during a health inspection (points are for violations and a score above 28 is a failure.) As reported in The New York Times, the DOH inspected the Stage last Wednesday and assigned it a failing score. The deli was allowed to remain open while it corrected major violations, but a subsequent inspection 48 hours later still resulted in insufficient cleanliness. more ›

A memo from FDNY Operations Chief Patrick McNally is instructing firefighters to conduct inspections of buildings under construction or demolition on two different timetables, depending on their height. City rules have long mandated that all buildings going up or coming down had to be inspected by the fire department every 15 days. McNally's memo now instructs firefighters to inspect buildings over 75 feet tall every 15 days, and below 75 feet tall every 30 days. more ›